Household appliance leveling system

ABSTRACT

A leveling arrangement to adjust the level of a built-in household appliance from the front after it has been installed in an undercounter position. The leveling arrangement includes a wedge member which, when moved forwardly by a tension member, interposes between a pivotally-mounted leveling bracket and the bottom of the appliance to urge the free end of the bracket against the floor and thus raise the rear portion of the appliance.

United States Patent Guth [45] Dec. 23, 1975 HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE LEVELING 3.750989 8/1973 Bergeson 248/1882 3,799,484 3/1974 Muller 248/l88.2

SYSTEM Inventor: Lauren W. Guth, Louisville, Ky.

General Electric Company, Louisville, Ky.

Filed: Aug. 2, 1974 Appl. No.: 494,223

Assignee:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1957 Matter.....- 248/1882 2/1967 Bellefleur ..248/188.2

Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant ExaminerDarrell Marquette 57 ABSTRACT A leveling arrangement to adjust the level of a built-in household appliance from the front after it has been installed in an undercounter position. The leveling arrangement includes a wedge member which, when moved forwardly by a tension member, interposes between a pivotally-mounted leveling bracket and the bottom of the appliance to urge the free end of the bracket against the floor and thus raise the rear portion of the appliance.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 3,927,853

HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE LEVELING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION counter position. Heretofore, it has been customary to provide each major appliance with four independently adjustable screw-type legs for leveling. Such an arrangement is, however, unsatisfactory for undercounter installation since the rearwardmost adjustable legs are virtually inaccessible after the appliance has been put into position. Prior art attempts at providing adjustability from the front of an undercounter appliance, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,750,989 and 3,071,887, have been either comlex and expensive or have suffered from a mechanical disadvantage which makes leveling of the appliance from the front very difficult.

The present invention is an inexpensive, simple, readily-constructed and easily-maintained device for leveling an appliance from the front after is has been installed in an undercounter position. The present invention further employs an arrangement which provides a mechanical advantage for leveling which allows easy adjustment of the appliance to any desired level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention includes a leveling device for an appliance which is suitable for leveling the appliance from the front side thereof after it has been put into its undercounter position. More specifically, the invention includes an appliance having an adjustable leveling arrangement located beneath the bottom wall of the appliance, the arrangement comprising: a leveling bracket of channel-shaped configuration for supporting the appliance, the leveling bracket being pivotally mounted at one end at a point forward of the rearwall of the appliance with the opposite end being a free end abuttable with the surface upon which the appliance rests. Wedge means are provided, which are insertable in a forwardly direction between the bottom wall of the appliance and the leveling bracket, from a position at the free end of the leveling bracket adjacent the rear wall of the appliance toward the pivoted end of the leveling bracket to provide a downward thrust to the leveling bracket, thus raising the rear portion of the appliance. A tension member is attached to the wedge means and extends along the bottom portion of the appliance and is terminable at the front portion. The tension member is secured at the front portion of the appliance after adjusting the rear of the appliance to the desired level.

Advantageously, the leveling bracket is of channelshaped cross-section, thereby providing a guide for the wedge means, which rests between the legs thereof, during the adjustment of the appliance level. Also, the leveling bracket may include a rear wall portion which functions to restrict the movement of the wedge means to a path within the channel-shaped leveling bracket and to additionally provide a rounded end portion on the leveling bracket. Preferably, the tension member is a wire rod which is secured to the front portion of the appliance by extending it through the front wall thereof and bending it sharply.

Also, it is preferable that the appliance bottom wall include an inset portion which coacts with the wedge means during adjustment and which tends to stabilize the wedge means in a cooperable position with the bottom wall during adjustment. Also, it may be desirable in certain circumstances to provide the appliance with level adjusting means located at the front of the appliance so that it is completely adjustable in height from the front thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side view of a dishwasher employing the leveling device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the dishwasher of FIG. 1 in its unleveled condition; and

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the dishwasher of FIG. I after leveling.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows dishwasher 10 having tub 12, supported by base 14, and tub support collar 16. The base also supports a pivotally-mounted door 18 and frontmounted toe plate 20. Identical adjustable leveling arrangements 24 (only one of which is shown) are attached on opposite sides of bottom wall 22 of base 14. Each adjustable leveling arrangement, located in opposed relationship to the other, functions to raise or lower a rear corner of the dishwasher.

Each adjustable leveling arrangement includes leveling bracket 28 which is attached to bottom wall 22 of the base 14. Preferably, the attachment is made by welding; however, rivets or other attachment means can beemployed. Each leveling bracket 28 includes notched section 30 which is provided to enable leveling bracket 28 to bend downwardly as will be hereinafter described.

Each adjustable leveling arrangement further includes wedge means 32, which is insertable between the bottom wall 22 of the base 14 and the leveling bracket 28, from a position adjacent the rear wall 42 of the appliance toward the attached end of the leveling bracket 28; whereupon, leveling bracket 28 is forced forwardly abuttably against the floor upon which the appliance rests and, in turn, the rearwardmost portion of the appliance is raised upwardly.

Advantageously, bottom wall 22 includes a receiving portion which coacts with wedge means 32 during adjustment to stabilize said wedge means in a cooperable position with respect to the leveling bracket during adjustment. Attached to wedge means 32 is a tension member 34 which comprises a steel rod or wire. Tension member 34 extends beyond the front of the dishwasher for easy access thereto. Upon exerting a tension force on tension member 34, wedge means 32 is forced between leveling bracket 28 and bottom wall 22 to effect leveling of the appliance.

In the operation of the adjustable support system of this invention, a dishwasher or other appliance, which is intended to be built in, is uncrated and slid into position beneath a counter. The position of the leveling bracket is shown in FIG. 2. As the appliance is being slid under the counter, it will be noted that rear wall portion 36 of leveling bracket 28 provides a rounded edge which prevents the leveling bracket from digging into the floor as it is slid therealong. Further, rear wall portion 36 prevents wedge means 32 from slipping out of position with respect to the bottom wall 22 of base 14, w 1

It should be noted that leveling bracket 28 is generally ofchannel-shapedcross-section including opposed side walls 38, only one of which is shown in the drawings; Leveling bracket 28 thus provides a stabilizing influence on wedge means 32 as it is being drawn toward the front of the appliance during leveling.

After the appliance has been positioned, the front adjustable feet 26 are rotated, thus bringing the upper portion of the appliance to the proper level so that it may be secured to the counter 40 as shown in FIG. 1.

Having positioned the appliance under the counter and attached it thereto, the next step is to pull on each tension member 34, thereby forcing its respective wedge means 32 between the bottom wall 22 of the base and the leveling bracket 28. The wedge forces the rearward extremity of the appliance upward causing the leveling bracket 28 to bend at notched section 30. When the desired level is reached, the tension member 34'is'cut and bent sharply or wrapped around one of the front adjustable feet 26 to prevent wedge means 32 from sliding backward toward the rear of the appliance and allowing the appliance to drop.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that by releasing the tension member 34 and allowing it' to slide rearwa'rdly' of the dishwasher or even exerting a slight pushing force thereon will lower the rear of the machine for easy removal from its undercounter position.

In'the alternative, it should be noted that each leveling bracket 28 could be pivotally mounted using a hinge means, rather than welding, to fasten it to the bottom wall 22; however, such an expensive arrangement is not necessary where it is anticipated that the appliance will not be removed and repositioned under the counter more than five or six times during its useful life.

The materials of construction of the adjustable leveling arrangement are typically light metal, such as aluminum or steel, however, it is also possible that the leveling bracket 28 and the wedge means 32 could be fabricated from a polymeric resinous material. Such materials include, but are not limited to, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and co-polymers of these.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. An appliance having an adjustable leveling arrangement located beneath the bottom wall of said appliance comprising:

a leveling bracket of channel-shaped configuration for supporting said appliance, said leveling bracket being mounted at one end to the bottom wall of said appliance at a point foward of the rear wall of the appliance, the opposite end being a free end abuttable with the surface upon which the appliance rests, said leveling bracket having a notch adjacent said mounted end and intermediate said mounted end and said free end;

wedge means insertable in a forwardly direction between said bottom wall of said appliance and said leveling bracket from a position at the free end of said bracket adjacent the rear wall of the appliance toward the mounted end of said leveling bracket to cause said leveling bracket to bend at said notch and to provide a downward thrust to the leveling bracket; and

non-rotatable tension member attached to said wedge means extending along the bottom portion of the appliance and terminable at the front portion, said tension member being secured to the front portion of said appliance after adjustment of the rear of the appliance to the desired level has been accomplished.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wedge means is slidably secured within the channel-shaped leveling bracket thereby providing a guide for said wedge during the adjustment of the appliance level.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said leveling bracket comprises a rear wall portion to restrict the movement of the wedge means to a path within the channel-shaped leveling bracket and to additionally provide a rounded end portion on the leveling bracket.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said tension member is a wire rod which is secured to the front portion of the appliance by extending through the front wall thereof and bending sharply.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said appliance bottom wall includes an offset portion which coacts with said wedge means during adjustment and which tends to stabilize said wedge means in a cooperable position with respect to the leveling bracket during adjustment.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said appliance further includes level adjusting means located at the front thereof to provide complete adjustability of height of said apparatus.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said adjustment means at both the front and rear of said appliance are adjustable from the front thereof. 

1. An appliance having an adjustable leveling arrangement located beneath the bottom wall of said appliance comprising: a leveling bracket of channel-shaped configuration for supporting said appliance, said leveling bracket being mounted at one end to the bottom wall of said appliance at a point foward of the rear wall of the appliance, the opposite end being a free end abuttable with the surface upon which the appliance rests, said leveling bracket having a notch adjacent said mounted end and intermediate said mounted end and said free end; wedge means insertable in a forwardly direction between said bottom wall of said appliance and said leveling bracket from a position at the free end of said bracket adjacent the rear wall of the appliance toward the mounted end of said leveling bracket to cause said leveling bracket to bend at said notch and to provide a downward thrust to the leveling bracket; and a non-rotatable tension member attached to said wedge means extending along the bottom portion of the appliance and terminable at the front portion, said tension member being secured to the front portion of said appliance after adjustment of the rear of the appliance to the desired level has been accomplished.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wedge means is slidably secured within the channel-shaped leveling bracket thereby providing a guide for said wedge during the adjustment of the appliance level.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said leveling bracket comprises a rear wall portion to restrict the movement of the wedge means to a path within the channel-shaped leveling bracket and to additionally provide a rounded end portion on the leveling bracket.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said tension member is a wire rod which is secured to the front portion of the appliance by extending through the front wall thereof and bending sharply.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said appliance bottom wall includes an offset portion which coacts with said wedge means during adjustment and which tends to stabilize said wedge means in a cooperable position with respect to the leveling bracket during adjustment.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said appliance further includes level adjuSting means located at the front thereof to provide complete adjustability of height of said apparatus.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said adjustment means at both the front and rear of said appliance are adjustable from the front thereof. 